Mendocino County, CA Landscaping Rules: Grass Height Limits (2026)

Mendocino County does not publish a specific lawn-height limit (such as 6 or 12 inches) the way many cities do. Instead, Chapter 8.77 of the County Code ('Hazardous Vegetation, Combustible Material, Rubbish, and Weeds,' adopted by Ordinance 4485 on February 23, 2021) makes it a public nuisance to let property accumulate hazardous vegetation that creates a fire hazard. 'Hazardous Vegetation' is defined to include seasonal and recurrent weeds, stubble, brush, dry grass, leaves or needles. 'Weeds' are defined as neglected vegetation in the urbanized, residentially zoned portions of the unincorporated county that grows so large that, when dry, it becomes a fire hazard to adjacent improved property. Because every unincorporated parcel in Mendocino County lies within a CAL FIRE State Responsibility Area, the operative numeric standard comes from state law: Public Resources Code section 4291 and CAL FIRE defensible-space guidance call for cutting annual grass to a maximum height of about four inches and maintaining 100 feet of clearance around structures. The County Building Official or designee determines when vegetation constitutes a nuisance fire hazard under Chapter 8.77.